If Silicon Prairie is to compete with the titans of the tech
world, Chicago’s digital firms need the offices to match. That was the message
coming from Mayor Emanuel at last week’s Ethos Event Series 1.0, hosted by Chicago Creative Space at
Venue One in the West Loop.

After a brief
introduction by the mayor, the crowd of about 200 heard from representatives of
several companies that have figured out how to keep elite talent from bolting
for the coasts. Ifbyphone keeps scooters around for its programmers. Starter
League founder Neal Sales-Griffin’s office is painted to look like a New York
subway station. GiveForward co-founder Desiree Vargas-Wrigley cooks for her
staff. And Threadless CEO Jake Nickell gives employees a canvas for an
outlet—four white office walls and several canisters of spray paint. “Our space
shows that we want employees to get ideas out of their head and make it real,”
Nickell said.

But keynote speaker
Howard Tullman, founder and chairman of Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, was careful
to note that while an office can reflect a culture, no company can subsist on a
floor plan alone. “Bricks and mortar don’t make the business,” Tullman said.
“We start by building a culture where people feel comfortable and then the materials
follow the mission.”

The event’s organizer and founder of Chicago
Creative Space, Max Chopovsky, highlights Chicago’s tech and creative cultures
by producing videos of innovative companies’ office spaces. Chopovsky aims to
market the videos to firms as an effective recruiting tool while creating a
repository for emerging entrepreneurs who are tackling culture and space for
the first time.